Dozens of roads in the centre of London are set to be shut this Saturday (Metro.co.uk)
Armistice Day protests are set to cause travel chaos in London this weekend, with both road and tube closures bringing the capital to a halt.
Both Remembrance and pro-Palestine events are planned on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.
The protests are set to cause a transport nightmare for thousands of people as multiple roads and tube lines will be shut down.
On Saturday the Lord Mayor’s Show is also set to take place and will see many central London roads closed off for most of the day.
The full details of the Lord Mayor’s show ahead of this weekend where marches will take place on both Saturday and Sunday in the capital (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
Tube closures on Saturday, November 11
What tube lines are closed this weekend
Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines will all be closed on Saturday.
The show is set to see marching bands, impressive floats, and the gold State Coach roll through the three-mile route.
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The majority of the City of London will be closed from 7am on Saturday, extending from Kingsway to Bishopsgate, and up from Holborn to Chapterhouse Street.
While the perimeter roads surrounding the Mayor’s Show will remain open, any roads within the area will be shut until 4 or 5 pm on Saturday.
The parade will begin at 11am from Mansion House, and march towards St Paul’s Cathedral, before reaching the Royal Courts of Justice around 11.30am.
Early morning rehearsals for the Lord Mayor’s Show have already taken place (Picture: PA)
But travel chaos is expected through the weekend, as five London Underground liens will be shut for several hours on Saturday morning.
Transport for London (TfL) is implementing closures on the Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines until 3pm on November 11.
The blanket shutdown of the lines is being put in place to allow for a ‘transformative’ new signalling system to be installed.
Controversy surrounding the Armistice Day march
Why is the Armistice Day march causing issues?
There is set to be a pro-Palestine march on Saturday throughout central London (Picture: Getty)
A row erupted this week after the Met Police confirmed that a pro-Palestine march planned for Armistice Day would still go ahead – despite concerns from the Prime Minister.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman today accused the force of bias in a controversial article, claiming ‘pro-Palestinian mobs’ are ‘largely ignored’ by officers ‘even when clearly breaking the law’.
The article was submitted to Downing Street but did not get signed off as significant alterations were requested, it was understood.
Rishi Sunak is now facing calls from opposition parties to sack Mrs Braverman over the ‘irresponsible’ and ‘divisive’ remarks which they say fan the risk of unrest this weekend.
Mrs Braverman’s article reflected her frustration with Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley, who has resisted pressure from senior Tories to ban Saturday’s march in London, saying the law would only allow him to do so in ‘extreme cases’.
Mr Sunak on Wednesday hauled in Sir Mark for an emergency meeting about the march and said he would hold the Scotland Yard boss ‘accountable’ if there was trouble.
The system -which is called Four Lines Modernisation – will be tested out until around 3pm on Saturday, and a number of busy lines will be taken out of action.
A march is also set to be held for Remembrance Sunday, following a rally for Palestine planned at 12pm on Saturday.
Route of pro-Palestine march through London
Thousands of people are expected to take part in the march through the capital on Saturday (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
Thousands are expected to take to the streets for another Palestine march on Saturday (Picture: Getty)
The Palestinian march has been the centre of controversy, however, as many believe the march is disrespectful to hold on Armistice Day.
But the Metropolitan Police commissioner has resisted political pressure to prohibit Sunday’s pro-Palestine march, saying there is ‘no absolute power’ to ban protest.
Sir Mark Rowley said intelligence surrounding the potential for serious disorder this weekend does not meet the threshold to apply to outlaw the demo.
Road closures in London this weekend
What roads are closed in London this weekend?
As the procession for the Lord Mayor’s Show will take over much of London, you can expect that most central roads will be shut.
Much of the City of London is closed off from 7am or 6am for the Bank area, with no traffic expected.
The closed areas will range from Kingsway in the East to Bishopsgate in the west, and from the river up to Holborn and Chapterhouse Street
Perimeter roads around the area will be open but all roads in between will be closed.
Most roads in the area will reopen between 4pm and 5pm.
‘The laws created by parliament are clear. There is no absolute power to ban protest, therefore there will be a protest this weekend,’ Sir Mark said.
‘The law provides no mechanism to ban a static gathering of people. It contains legislation which allows us to impose conditions to reduce disruption and the risk of violence, and in the most extreme cases when no other tactics can work, for marches or moving protests to be banned.’
He said the use of the power to block moving protests is ‘incredibly rare’ and must be reserved for cases where there is intelligence to suggest a ‘real threat’ of serious disorder.
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The majority of the City of London will be closed from 7am on Saturday.
